Aftermarket radiator caps and oil cap! Do they WORK?

[West]

Hi all, just want to know from those who have Apexi Gt radiator cap, oil cap....ect..on their car, do they really work?

For instance the Apexi Gt radiator cap, it said to hold up to 1.3 kg of pressure and help raise boiling point...ect... Is it real?

[Mik]

Hi all, just want to know from those who have Apexi Gt radiator cap, oil cap....ect..on their car, do they really work?

  For instance the Apexi Gt radiator cap, it said to hold up to 1.3 kg of pressure and help raise boiling point...ect... Is it real?

Yes for the radiator cap and the oil cap still stops the oil from coming out.

[Cubes]

The oil cap won't offer any benifits however the radiator cap will under race conditions or heavy traffic.

The only problem with a higher pressure rad cap is that you will be much more likely to blow radiator hoses.

[Cubes]

The oil cap won't offer any benifits however the radiator cap will under race conditions or heavy traffic.

The only problem with a higher pressure rad cap is that you will be much more likely to blow radiator hoses.

[PHaT MR30]

cosmetic really

[Mik]

cosmetic really

Not the radiator cap

[SXC180]

omg ... maybe thats why lol

i blew my top radiator hose twice recently and i have a greddy radiator cap

[predator]

Well I have noticed a big difference going from a shagged cap to a decent one.. it can make what seems like an inefficient radiator perfectly fine.

The usual brassy coloured ones you seem to find in australia seems to pretty reasonable quality though.. I guess because the big cars in Australia are designed to run under high outback heat..

[predator]

case in point...

on RHS is my old stock R33 cap.. (painted by me ricer red, ignore that).

on the LHS is your generic $10 one from any parts place now on my 32. Note the thicker top pressure seal, and how the rubber comes over the top of the cap.

I am not sure whether the stock GTR one is anything the same, but its not hard to improve on the standard design..

Anybody have a picture of a Greddy/Apexi/probably overpriced ricer one to compare?

[West]

Well i've got one of them local one and everytime i step on my car hard, a bit of coolant spit out of my overflow tank. Nothing wrong with my car, no overheat ...ect..so i assume that i need a higher pressure one.

[Beer Baron]

case in point...  

on RHS is my old stock R33 cap.. (painted by me ricer red, ignore that).  

on the LHS is your generic $10 one from any parts place now on my 32. Note the thicker top pressure seal, and how the rubber comes over the top of the cap.  

I am not sure whether the stock GTR one is anything the same, but its not hard to improve on the standard design..  

Anybody have a picture of a Greddy/Apexi/probably overpriced ricer one to compare?

the pink one in your picture has had parts of the rubber seal break off. it wasn't like that when in good condition.

[Cubes]

West,

Have you got a 'real' temperature guage to determine if the car is getting hot or not?

The stock temp guage is a 3 stage. Its either cold in the middle or hot.

For example the temperature range in the middle is from 72degree's right up to 102degree's from memory.

102degree's I would consider to be too hot, especially if it is reaching these temps on the street. On the track sure, lap after lap on a stock cooling system will see these temps but definitely not on the street.

[PHaT MR30]

my daily has a shagged radiator cap an dit doesn't hold much pressure, coolant often comes out the overflow on it, just replace it... its on my to do list for tomorrow

[Beer Baron]

West,

 

Have you got a 'real' temperature guage to determine if the car is getting hot or not?

 

The stock temp guage is a 3 stage. Its either cold in the middle or hot.

 

For example the temperature range in the middle is from 72degree's right up to 102degree's from memory.

 

102degree's I would consider to be too hot, especially if it is reaching these temps on the street. On the track sure, lap after lap on a stock cooling system will see these temps but definitely not on the street.

I would say 100 is too hot any time. on the GTR the water temp never gets above 83 degrees on the track, that's including 10 lap race when pushing very hard (too hard!). that's with stock radiator and a cusco cap. car is making 250kw atrw but does run a big oil cooler which would help. for me 90 i reckon is too high.

[Ronin 09]

my GTR with oil cooler hit 105 water temp at the track on a 35degree day...

fatter radiator methinks

Also, gordo - while the rubber lip might make a small difference, the only thing affecting the rad cap from opening is the spring - higher spring force, higher pressure to open so all the aftermarket 'high pressure' caps have are a stiffer spring... much like an aftermarket wastegate actuator

[Beer Baron]

holy sh1t mate. 105 is pretty well up there. may i ask where is the oil cooler mounted? i haven't pounded it on a 35 degree day though either so that would certainly make a difference.

[Ronin 09]

The cooler is in the duct in the front bar passenger side. It is poorly placed, so we're going to go at the bar with a dremel... might also put in an exit duct in the side of the front bar ala Nismo style

[Beer Baron]

yeah mine is in the passenger duct also, but with an aluminium duct built around it to duct all the air through the core, and with an exit duct in front of the wheel.

what kind of oil temps were you getting on that day?

[Ronin 09]

oil temps around 120 celcius!!

[Beer Baron]

yeah I would say that was helping drag up the water temp a bit too. i guess they both feed off each other to a degree and once they start to go up it's a bad cycle. having done a few track days this year and even a 10 lap race (including comp pitstop etc) i haven't got oil temp over 95 and water temp never over 83. i think the duct and giving the air an escape will help a lot.